This invention relates to the treatment of physical injuries such as cuts, burns, fractures, and surgical wounds. Perhaps the simplest and most widely used treatment is the common bandage. Bandages vary greatly in size, construction and use. They range in size from the small type covering shallow minor surface wounds and burns to the large surgical dressing type. These bandages are typically constructed of gauze material which may be layered several times. They may be attached to the skin with adhesive or wrapped around the injured area and attached with clips or the like. The advantages of common bandages are that they are inexpensively, widely available and applicable by unskilled persons. Thus, a bandage is frequently the first form of treatment received by an injured person.
However, bandages are disadvantageous in that they are permeable to gases and liquids and thus are inadequate to maintain a sterile environment around the wound. Also bandages are inadequate to remove blood and drainage from the area of the wound. Sticking of the wound to the bandage may cause pain and reinjury of the wound upon removal of the bandage. Finally, bandages may provide inadequate cushioning of the wound against bumps and scrapes, and are often timeconsuming or complex to apply.
Numerous attempts have been made to overcome the disadvantages of the common bandage. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,419,506 and 3,572,330, describe a protective foam resin which is applied directly to a wound. The foam is sprayed onto the wound from a pressurized container and is thereafter spread and patted down manually by the person applying the foam. The foam dries rapidly to form a solid body which covers the wound. This type of treatment is advantageous in that the solidified foam provides a protective cushion for the wound. Also, blood and drainage can be dispersed into the foam and antibiotics may be introduced into the foam, thus enhancing the healing process. However, the foam can be difficult to apply since it may adhere to the applicant's hands and, since it is not confined, can spread or run off to areas where it is not needed. Furthermore, the resulting dressing may not be aesthetically pleasing.
Another type of treatment is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,367,332 and 3,874,387. An expandible membrane or cap-shaped cover is placed over the wound and attached to the skin. Openings are provided in the membrane through which blood can be drained from the wound or fluids admitted to the wound area. Niether of these patents describes, however, an enclosure which is adaptable to receive medical grade foam from a pressurized container, and both are limited to other specific applications. This type of treatment does not, therefore, embody the advantages inherent in the foam-type dressing.
Patent 3,563,234 discloses a splint for a fractured limb and utilizes foam injected into a flexible perforated sleeve.
None of the aforementioned types of treatment is compatible with the use of common bandages and the like.
It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a treatment in which medical grade foam is applied within a confining enclosure. It is another object of this invention to provide a wound dressing and a method of forming same which are compatible with common bandages which are generally flat and can be manipulated to confine the foam. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION